Systems and methods for correction of on-strip coding

ABSTRACT

Systems and methods of making a diagnostic test strip, the method including marking a machine-readable pattern onto the diagnostic test strip which contains information that allows a meter designed to work with the test strip to convert raw signal data from the diagnostic test strip into a meaningful concentration value for an analyte of interest. The method further includes printing the machine-readable pattern having a modified based code that is different from a base code of the diagnostic test strip being produced, wherein the modified based code is based on a strip geometry parameter, a chemistry parameter or both the strip geometry and chemistry parameters that are measured for the diagnostic test strip.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a divisional patent application of U.S. applicationSer. No. 15/455,385 filed, Mar. 10, 2017, which claims the benefit ofand priority to U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/306,927, filed,Mar. 11, 2016, the entirety of each of which are hereby incorporatedherein by reference.

FIELD

The present disclosure relates to systems and methods for sensing aconcentration of a constituent within a fluid through the use ofdiagnostic test strips.

BACKGROUND

Many individuals and industries have a need to monitor the concentrationof particular constituents in a fluid. The oil refining industry,wineries, and the dairy industry are examples of industries where fluidtesting is routine. In the health care field, individuals such asdiabetics, for example, have a need to monitor a particular constituentwithin their bodily fluids. A number of systems are available that allowpeople to test a body fluid, such as, blood, urine, or saliva, toconveniently monitor the level of a particular fluid analyte, such as,for example, cholesterol, proteins, or glucose. Such systems can includea test strip where the user applies a fluid sample and a meter that“reads” the test strip to determine the analyte level in the fluidsample.

Further, accurate measurements of concentration levels in a body fluid,such as blood, may be critical to the long-term health of many users. Asa result, there is a need for a high level of reliability in the metersand test strips used to measure concentration levels in fluids.

It would be advantageous to have a system which would allow for a costeffective auto-calibration system for diagnostic test strips that morereliably and more accurately provide a signaling code for individualtest strips.

SUMMARY

The present disclosure is directed to systems, methods and devices forcorrection of coding on test strips.

In some embodiments, a method of making a diagnostic test stripcomprises marking a machine-readable pattern onto the diagnostic teststrip which contains information that allows a meter designed to workwith the test strip to convert raw signal data from the diagnostic teststrip into a meaningful concentration value for an analyte of interest;printing the machine-readable pattern having a modified based code thatis different from a base code of the diagnostic test strip beingproduced, wherein the modified based code is based on a strip geometryparameter, a chemistry parameter or both the strip geometry and thechemistry parameters that are measured for the diagnostic test strip.

In some embodiments, a method of making a diagnostic test stripcomprises obtaining a base code for a lot of test strips by testing arepresentative number of strips by destructive means; inspectingsub-lots of the lot of test strips by non-destructive means to determinevariations in one or more parameters; and modifying the base code basedon the variations in the one or more parameters.

These and other aspects and embodiments will be apparent to those ofordinary skill in the art by reference to the following detaileddescription and the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present disclosure is further described in the detailed descriptionwhich follows, in reference to the noted plurality of drawings by way ofnon-limiting examples of exemplary embodiments, in which like referencenumerals represent similar parts throughout the several views of thedrawings, and wherein:

FIG. 1A is a general cross-sectional view of a test strip according tosome embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 1B is a is a top view of a conductive pattern on a substrate of atest strip according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2A is a perspective view of a meter, according to some embodimentsof the present disclosure;

FIG. 2B is a perspective view of the meter of FIG. 10, with a removabledata storage device inserted in it, according to some embodiments of thepresent disclosure;

FIG. 3 is a histogram showing reported glucose results from a group ofbiosensors with all the biosensors in the group using the same code totranslate signal into a glucose value, according to some embodiments ofthe present disclosure;

FIG. 4 is a histogram showing a geometry parameter measured on the samebiosensors of FIG. 3, according to some embodiments of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 5 is a scatter plot of FIG. 4 showing each test strip's geometryparameter versus the bias from the mean of the glucose reading obtained,according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 6 is a histogram showing the corrected glucose results from FIG. 4according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 7 is a histogram showing a chemistry parameter measured on the samebiosensors of FIG. 3, according to some embodiments of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 8 is a plot of data in FIG. 7, showing each test strip's chemistryparameter versus the bias from the mean of the glucose reading obtained,according to some embodiments of the present disclosure; and

FIG. 9 is a histogram showing the corrected glucose results of FIG. 7,according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

While the above-identified drawings set forth presently disclosedembodiments, other embodiments are also contemplated, as noted in thediscussion. This disclosure presents illustrative embodiments by way ofrepresentation and not limitation. Numerous other modifications andembodiments can be devised by those skilled in the art which fall withinthe scope and spirit of the principles of the presently disclosedembodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following description provides exemplary embodiments only, and isnot intended to limit the scope, applicability, or configuration of thedisclosure. Rather, the following description of the exemplaryembodiments will provide those skilled in the art with an enablingdescription for implementing one or more exemplary embodiments. It willbe understood that various changes may be made in the function andarrangement of elements without departing from the spirit and scope ofthe invention as set forth in the appended claims.

Specific details are given in the following description to provide athorough understanding of the embodiments. However, it will beunderstood by one of ordinary skill in the art that the embodiments maybe practiced without these specific details. For example, systems,processes, and other elements in the invention may be shown ascomponents in block diagram form in order not to obscure the embodimentsin unnecessary detail. In other instances, well-known processes,structures, and techniques may be shown without unnecessary detail inorder to avoid obscuring the embodiments.

Also, it is noted that individual embodiments may be described as aprocess which is depicted as a flowchart, a flow diagram, a data flowdiagram, a structure diagram, or a block diagram. Although a flowchartmay describe the operations as a sequential process, many of theoperations can be performed in parallel or concurrently. In addition,the order of the operations may be re-arranged. A process may beterminated when its operations are completed, but could have additionalsteps not discussed or included in a figure. Furthermore, not alloperations in any particularly described process may occur in allembodiments. A process may correspond to a method, a function, aprocedure, a subroutine, a subprogram, etc. When a process correspondsto a function, its termination corresponds to a return of the functionto the calling function or the main function.

Subject matter will now be described more fully with reference to theaccompanying drawings, which form a part hereof, and which show, by wayof illustration, specific example aspects and embodiments of the presentdisclosure. Subject matter may, however, be embodied in a variety ofdifferent forms and, therefore, covered or claimed subject matter isintended to be construed as not being limited to any example embodimentsset forth herein; example embodiments are provided merely to beillustrative. The following detailed description is, therefore, notintended to be taken in a limiting sense.

In general, terminology may be understood at least in part from usage incontext. For example, terms, such as “and”, “or”, or “and/or,” as usedherein may include a variety of meanings that may depend at least inpart upon the context in which such terms are used.

Typically, “or” if used to associate a list, such as A, B, or C, isintended to mean A, B, and C, here used in the inclusive sense, as wellas A, B, or C, here used in the exclusive sense. In addition, the term“one or more” as used herein, depending at least in part upon context,may be used to describe any feature, structure, or characteristic in asingular sense or may be used to describe combinations of features,structures or characteristics in a plural sense. Similarly, terms, suchas “a,” “an,” or “the,” again, may be understood to convey a singularusage or to convey a plural usage, depending at least in part uponcontext. In addition, the term “based on” may be understood as notnecessarily intended to convey an exclusive set of factors and may,instead, allow for existence of additional factors not necessarilyexpressly described, again, depending at least in part on context.

The present disclosure relates to systems and methods for measuring abody fluid constituent that includes a test strip and a meter. Anindividual test strip may also include an embedded code relating to dataassociated with a lot of test strips, or data particular to thatindividual strip. The embedded information presents data readable by themeter signaling the meter's microprocessor to access and utilize aspecific set of stored calibration parameters particular to test strips,either based on characteristics of the manufacturing lot which includesthe individual strip, or to an individual test strip.

According to aspects of the present disclosure, it is possible to usepredetermined measured process parameters, such as geometry and/orchemistry parameters, that can be determined prior to the application ofembedding the code on the individual test strip, so as to adjust ormodify the embedded code to compensate for the variations in theseparameters. This is distinct from the current industry standard practiceof measuring the response of the assembled test strip using blood orcontrived artificial samples. The current practice uses a destructivetest on a sampling of the entire lot and provides an average code forthe entire lot. With the inventive method, it is possible, in someembodiments, to measure every single test strip or a representativenumber of test strips produced within a lot non-destructively and offsetan average lot code for individual portions of the lot.

This adjustment of the embedded code could be done for an entire teststrip lot, or within a test strip lot for a group of test strips, aswell as at an individual test strip level. For example, particularsub-lots of a test strip lot can read identical glucose solutions aseither higher or lower than the test strip lot average for the samesample test strip lot. Sub-lot can refer to any arbitrary subset of anentire lot. For example, a lot may be made up of 50000 individual vials,each of which has 50 individual strips inside. A sub-lot could refer,for example, to the first 1000 vials of the lot, the first strip withineach vial, or some other arbitrary grouping, even down to an individualstrip. By determining how a particular parameter or parameters affects atest reading from the sample test strip lot, it is possible to adjust ormodify the test readings based on this information by measuring arepresentative sample of the sensor produced within a lotnon-destructively and offsetting the average lot code for individualportions of the lot. In some embodiment it is possible to convey theidentified variations in these parameters; either prior to the time theindividual test strip is embedded with a code or at a later time usingthe meter to modify the original embedded code to a new embedded code.The new embedded code may be physically embedded along with the originalembedded code on the test strip, and/or the meter may contain dataspecific to identified variations in these parameters that is used withthe original embedded code.

By way of a non-limiting example, variations in geometry parameters thatmay require an adjustment may include, but are not limited to, electrodesize (width) or shape, distance between the electrodes, material fromwhich the electrodes are produced, sample well height, sample welllength, or aspect ratio of height versus electrode area. By way of anon-limiting example, variations in chemistry parameters that mayrequire an adjustment may include, but are not limited to, type ofenzyme, concentration of enzyme, concentration of mediator, ratio inconcentrations of enzyme to mediator, electrolyte concentration, binderor other thickener concentration, crystal shape or orientation, andchemistry layer thickness. For example, as the reagent dries into acrystal form due to the ionic solids in the reagent from theelectrolytes and the mediators, the size and shape of the crystals canvary based on a variety of factors, including but not limited to dryingtemperature and humidity.

Some aspects of the present disclosure provide improved techniques inconveying this information regarding these geometry and/or chemistryvariations to the aforementioned test strip lots and/or meter, e.g.glucose meter, so as to correct the particular test strip lot code,among other things. The modified embedded coding identified for theindividual test strips of the present disclosure may mitigate, amongother things embedded coding errors or variations in a test strip lotdue to particular parts of a test strip lot that can read higher orlower than the lot average for the same sample test strip lot; and mayminimize the effect of normal process variations on biosensor readings,e.g., glucose biosensor readings. Furthermore, aspects of the presentdisclosure provide for improved technique(s) in conveying the geometryand/or chemistry variation information to the test strip lots and/ormeter, to effectively increase the precision, and the quality, of teststrip lots and diagnostics biosensors, e.g., meters. Further, byminimizing the effects of normal process variations on glucose biosensorreadings, aspects of the present disclosure can result in a product thatwill perform more accurately in clinical settings, home settings, or thelike.

FIG. 1A illustrates a general cross-sectional view of an embodiment of atest strip 10. Test strip 10 includes a proximal end 12, a distal end14, and is formed with a base layer 16 extending along the entire lengthof test strip 10. The base layer 16 is preferably composed of anelectrically insulating material and has a thickness sufficient toprovide structural support to test strip 10. For purposes of thisdisclosure, “distal” refers to the portion of a test strip further fromthe fluid source (e.g., closer to the meter) during normal use, and“proximal” refers to the portion closer to the fluid source (e.g., afingertip with a drop of blood for a glucose test strip) during normaluse. The base layer 16 may be composed of an electrically insulatingmaterial and has a thickness sufficient to provide structural support totest strip 10.

As seen in FIG. 1A, the proximal end 12 of test strip 10 includes asample receiving location, such as a sample chamber 20 configured toreceive a patient's fluid sample, as described above. The sample chamber20 may be formed in part through a slot in a dielectric insulating layer18 formed between a cover 22 and the underlying measuring electrodesformed on the base layer 16. Accordingly, the sample chamber 20 mayinclude a first opening, e.g., a sample receiving location, in theproximal end of the test strip and a second opening for venting thesample chamber 20. The sample chamber 20 may be dimensioned so as to beable to draw the blood sample in through the first opening, and to holdthe blood sample in the sample chamber 20, by capillary action. The teststrip 10 can include a tapered section that is narrowest at the proximalend 12, or can include other indicia in order to make it easier for theuser to locate the first opening and apply the blood sample.

In reference to FIG. 1B, disposed on base layer 16 is a conductivepattern. In some embodiments, the conductive pattern may be formed bylaser ablating the electrically insulating material of the base layer 16to expose the electrically conductive material underneath. Other methodsmay also be used, such as inserted conductors with physical attachmentto control circuit. Other methods may also be used to dispose theconductive pattern on the base layer. The conductive pattern may includea plurality of electrodes 15 disposed on base layer 16 near proximal end12, a plurality of electrical strip contacts 19 disposed on base layer16 near distal end 14, and a plurality of conductive traces 17electrically connecting the electrodes 15 to the plurality of electricalstrip contacts 19.

A reagent layer may be disposed on the base layer 16 in contact with atleast a working electrode of the conductive pattern. The reagent layermay include an enzyme, such as glucose oxidase, and a mediator, such aspotassium ferricyanide or ruthenium hexamine. Reagent layer 90 may alsoinclude other components, such as buffering materials (e.g., potassiumphosphate), polymeric binders (e.g., hydroxypropyl-methyl-cellulose,sodium alginate, microcrystalline cellulose, polyethylene oxide,hydroxyethylcellulose, and/or polyvinyl alcohol), and surfactants (e.g.,Triton X-100 or Surfynol 485). With these chemical constituents, thereagent layer reacts with glucose in the blood sample in the followingway. The glucose oxidase initiates a reaction that oxidizes the glucoseto gluconic acid and reduces the ferricyanide to ferrocyanide. When anappropriate voltage is applied to working electrode, relative to counterelectrode, the ferrocyanide is oxidized to ferricyanide, therebygenerating a current that is related to the glucose concentration in theblood sample.

By non-limiting example, it is possible a working electrode and counterelectrode can be disposed in the sample chamber 20 optionally along withfill-detect electrodes. The reagent layer is disposed in the samplechamber 20 and preferably contacts at least the working electrode. Thereagent layer, as explained above, may include an enzyme, such asglucose oxidase or glucose dehydrogenase, and a mediator, such aspotassium ferricyanide or ruthenium hexamine. The test strip 10 has,near its distal end 14, a first plurality of electrical strip contactsthat are electrically connected to the electrodes via conductive traces.

In some embodiments, a calibration code can be included on the teststrip. In some embodiments, the calibration code can be included on thetest strip in the form of a second plurality of electrical stripcontacts near the distal end of the strip. The second plurality ofelectrical contacts can be arranged such that they provide, when thestrip is inserted into the meter, a distinctly discernable calibrationcode specific to the test strip lot readable by the meter. As notedabove, the readable code can be read as a signal to access data, such ascalibration coefficients, from an on-board memory unit in the meterrelated to test strips from that lot, or even information correspondingto individual test strips. For example, as shown in FIG. 1B, the teststrip can include a calibration code in the form of a plurality contacts50. In some embodiments, more than one calibration code can be includedon the test strip. For example, the test strip can include a secondcalibration code in the form of a second plurality of contacts 51, asshown in FIG. 1B.

FIG. 2A and FIG. 2B illustrates a meter 200 used to measure the glucoselevel in a blood sample. In some embodiments, the meter 200 has a sizeand shape to allow it to be conveniently held in a user's hand while theuser is performing the glucose measurement. Meter 200 may include afront side 202, a back side 204, a left side 206, a right side 208, atop side 210, and a bottom side 212. The front side 202 may include adisplay 214, such as a liquid crystal display (LCD). A bottom side 212may include a strip connector 216 into which test strip can be insertedto conduct a measurement. The top side 210 may include one or more usercontrols 222, such as buttons, with which the user may control meter200, and the right side 208 may include a serial connector (not shown).

Referring to FIG. 2A and FIG. 2B, the meter 200 may use data from aremovable data storage device or from internal memory to calculateglucose levels in blood samples measured by meter 200. Specifically,such data may be associated with a lot of test strips and may store oneor more parameters that meter 200 may use for that lot. For example, thedata may include one or more calibration parameters that meter 200 mayuse to calculate the glucose level from an averaged current measurement.The calibration parameters may include temperature corrections,hematocrit corrections, or other corrections. Data may further includeother information related to the lot of test strips and the meter, suchas a code identifying the brand of test strips, a code identifying themodel of meter to be used, and an expiration date for the lot of teststrips.

The test strip may include a code which contains information that allowsa meter designed to work with the test strip to convert the raw signalfrom the test strip into a meaningful concentration value for an analyteof interest. An example of encoding a strip with a lot code would be asimple binary bit system which could be read electrically by the meter.This binary code could be associated with a lookup table inside themeter. By way of a non-limiting example, some methods for encoding teststrips are disclosed in a commonly owned U.S. Pat. No. 9,012,232, whichis incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. Other methods tocode the test strips may also be employed.

In some embodiments, the original base code(s) relates to dataassociated with a specific lot of test strips. A typical currentindustry practice is measuring the response of the assembled test stripusing blood or contrived artificial samples. The current practice uses adestructive test on a sampling of the entire lot and provides an averagecode for the entire lot. This can be referred to as the base code of thelot. However, the base code is not necessarily generated this way. Somemanufacturers use a ‘universal code’, where every lot has the same basecode. This is typically done when the process is stable enough or theperformance requirements are wide enough that individual lot coding isnot necessary. The embedded information from the test strip presentsdata readable by the meter that may be used to signal the meter'smicroprocessor to access and utilize a specific set of storedcalibration parameters particular to test strips from a manufacturinglot to which the individual strip belongs, or to an individual teststrip. However, exact process parameters may vary among the test stripsin the lot, and thus sub-lots may be further tested by non-destructivemeans to obtain a code that is more specific for each sub-lot. A sub-lotmay be any subset of the entire amount of test strips from the lot, froman arbitrary percentage down to a single test strip.

According to some aspects of the present disclosure, the originalidentified base code(s) can be modified prior to embedding the code onthe test strip at the time of manufacturing to compensate for variationsin parameters, such as, predetermined measured process parameters, e.g.,geometry and/or chemistry parameters, which can be detected bynon-destructive means so the test strips can still be provided to users.Codes are an important part of designing accurate biosensors. Thefollowing is a step by step process of how they operate:

-   1. A test strip lot is made on the manufacturing line up to a    certain point of development. At this point, the strips are    functional in that they produce results on a meter, but they are    uncoded so the results as displayed may be inaccurate.-   2. A portion of the test strip lot is sampled. These test strip    samples are tested using natural or artificial specimens containing    the analyte of interest (e.g., blood would be an example of a    natural specimen, a control solution containing the analyte of    interest would be an example of an artificial specimen). Specimens    having a variety of analyte levels are tested. After the tests, the    test strips used in the tests are discarded as they cannot be used    again for testing.-   3. A dose response of analyte level in the specimen versus signal    generated (e.g. absorbance or current) is constructed and an    equation created that describes the relationship. The equation may    be in the form y=ax+b or y=ax²+bx+c, where x is the signal and y is    the analyte value. It should be noted that the base code may be    generated by other means.-   4. At this step, the path forward is determined by the coding method    used in the system. Proceeding on the example above, which uses a    binary system to reference a lookup table containing coefficients    within the meter, the dose response obtained in step 3 is compared    to the available coefficient sets in the meter. The coefficient set    that provides the best performance is selected. In other    embodiments, other coding systems, including but not limited to a    logical system (for example, XOR, OR, AND), can be used.-   5. The selected code is then marked onto the test strips for this    lot. When a test strip from this lot is inserted into a meter, the    lot code will be read by the meter and a lookup table will be    accessed. The meter will then use the coefficients provided in the    lookup table to convert signal into a meaningful analyte    concentration. This will be the displayed result on the meter    (however, additional transformations, for example, temperature    compensation, may be completed after the conversion but before the    display, so the actual result displayed may vary).-   6. However, as noted above, some portions or sub-lots of the entire    lot, or each test strip in the lot, may be examined to detect    process parameters, e.g., geometry and/or chemistry parameters,    among other variations. Such variations may be determined with    non-destructive means, so that the test strip can still be used for    future tests. Based on the observed variations in the parameters,    the base code may be adjusted so that the meter uses different    parameters for different sub-lots or test strips in the lot, thus    resulting in a more accurate test result for each test strip.

By way of example, particular parts of a test strip lot can read higheror lower than the test strip lot average for the same sample test striplot. By determining how a particular parameter or parameters affects anoriginal test reading, from the sample test strip lot, it is possible toadjust or modify the test readings based on this information beforeembedding the test strip lot with a code. For example, a diagnostic teststrip may have a code put directly on the test strip by means ofconductive patterns. This pattern is applied directly to the test stripat the time of manufacture. If the geometry and/or chemistry parametersare known prior to the application of this code, it is possible, forexample, by means of an algorithmic system, to adjust the code tocompensate for the variations in these parameters. This adjustment canbe done for an entire lot, or within a lot, even down to the individualtest strip level. For example, if a test strip had an anode size 2%larger than the test strip lot mean, and this caused code 128 to beoptimal instead of code 112, code 128 would be printed onto the teststrip by the manufacturing equipment.

In some embodiments of the present disclosure, after the individual teststrip is embedded with the original identified base code, a second codemay be embedded on the same individual test strip at some earlier orlater time. The second code may include a modification of the originalidentified base code with the predetermined measured process parametersdata, e.g., identified variations in geometry and/or chemistryparameters. The following is a non-limiting example of how to achievethis modification:

-   1. Establish a base code as described above (the order of this step    may not be critical, depending on particulars of the process, it can    be done before or after the secondary code is added).-   2. A physical measurement is done on the test strip. In this    example, it will be supposed that the measurement is done on every    individual test strip.-   3. Using an algorithm, an offset is calculated based on the mean of    the physical measurements of the entire lot versus the physical    measurement of the individual test strip in question. For example,    if the electrode area of the sensor in question is 4% larger than    the mean lot size, a −4% offset could be calculated to bring that    sensor's projected signal in line with the average for the entire    lot. Any mathematical transformation could be accomplished by the    second code. For example, instead of a fixed offset, a quadratic    equation based on temperature might be used. The modification of the    first code may be directly encoded (as in, a value of 4 encoded on    the strip translates into a +4 offset), or it may reside in a lookup    table on the meter (where a value of 4 would cause the meter to look    for the matching coefficients in a lookup table residing in the    meter's memory). Other methods of encoding may also be used.-   4. A marking indicating this offset will be made on this individual    test strip, where the marking is different than the marking    indicating the base code. This marking may use a binary or arbitrary    base system (trinary, etc.) and may be referenceable to a lookup    table in the meter or may represent a direct translation, where the    marking on the strip is used to perform an operation to the code or    the result using this coefficient. For instance, a marking    indicating the binary value 0-100 may indicate −4%, or an arbitrary    value that references a lookup table entry, for example 0110110 may    be used.-   5. The meter will use the −4% offset to directly adjust the given    value. For instance, if the reading obtained by the meter were 200    mg/dL glucose, this may be offset to 192 mg/dL as a final reading    that is reported by the device.

By way of example, the method of adding at least one additional coding,e.g., a second embedded coding, to the test strip, can be usedregardless of how or where test strip lot information is encoded. Inparticular, the method could use an offset encoded onto the test strip.For example, if a test strip had an anode size 2% larger than the teststrip lot mean, the test strip could be coded with a −2% offset tocancel out the effect of the larger anode. This offset could, forexample, be transcribed directly as a binary code, or be transcribed asa code that could then be interpreted via a lookup table in the meter.It is noted that these exemplary methods are not intended to be limitingto this embodiment of the present disclosure. The offset may be a fixedamount, a percentage offset, or a non-fixed offset that is encoded in alookup table on the meter.

The presently disclosed systems and methods provide many advantages, bynon-limiting examples: a) it may provide for an economical solution toimproving the quality and precision of the test strip and/or meter forboth manufacturing of the test strip and utilizing the meter; and b) itcan deliver a product to consumers that performs more accurately inclinical settings or home settings.

By way of a non-limiting example, FIGS. 3-6 show the dependence betweengeometry parameters and glucose readings.

FIG. 3 is a histogram showing reported glucose results from a group ofbiosensors with all the biosensors in the group using the same code totranslate signal into a glucose value. For example, in FIG. 3, the meanof the data set using a particular sample is approximately 601 mg/dL,and the standard deviation is 13.6. The data points are alsonon-normally distributed. If it is known how a particular parameter orparameters affects a sample reading, then, it is possible to adjustreadings based on this information. First, the original/same code istaken in a step by step definition, as described above; and then thegeometry parameter is combined (mathematical formula) with the originalglucose reading for FIG. 3, as described below.

FIG. 4 shows a geometry parameter measured on the samples from FIG. 3.In particular, it is possible to relate bias from the mean of thereadings to the geometry parameter, as shown in FIG. 5. In thisparticular example, the geometry parameter is related to the glucosereading bias through a linear equation of the form y=ax+b. In thisparticular equation every 10 units of the geometry parameter affects theglucose reading by about 2.5%. However, other types of relationships arepossible. FIG. 5 is a scatter plot of FIG. 4 showing each test strip'sgeometry parameter versus the bias from the mean of the glucose readingobtained.

FIG. 6 shows the corrected glucose reading as a result of applying thegeometry parameter correction equation (shown in FIG. 5) to the originalglucose readings. For example, if the mean of the lot has a geometryparameter of approximately 537, and the sub-lot in question has ameasurement of 527, a +2.5% offset will be applied in order to adjustthe readings upward. The standard deviation of the corrected glucosereadings is 6.6, a statistically significant improvement compared to theoriginal readings' standard deviation of 13.6. Correcting for thisgeometry parameter alone removed approximately 75% of the variance fromthis data set (185 versus 43.5 where variance is the square of thestandard deviation).

By way of a non-limiting example, FIGS. 3-6 show the dependence betweenchemistry parameters and test readings (in this case, hematocrit).Although previous examples have used a linear equation to correct for avariable, non-linear correlations can also be used. For example, theuncorrected data set in FIG. 7 shows a standard deviation ofapproximately 1.57. By observing the factors involved in the scheme, aone-way ANOVA analysis can be performed to determine how each categoryof the chemistry factor affects readings, which is shown in FIG. 8. FIG.9 shows the corrected variable, with a standard deviation of 1.25.

According to aspects of the present disclosure, improved technique(s) inconveying the geometry and/or chemistry variation information to thetest strip lots and/or the meter can effectively increase the precision,and the quality, of test strip lots and diagnostics biosensors, e.g.meters, among other things.

According to aspects of the present disclosure, embodiments of thepresent disclosure includes a test strip, a method of determining aconstituent level within a fluid, a method of making a test strip, and amethod of making a plurality of test strips that obviate one or more ofthe limitations and disadvantages of prior devices and methods.

In some embodiments, the present disclosure is directed to a diagnostictest strip or sensor. Encoded on the test strip is a machine-readablemarking which contains information that allows a meter designed to workwith the test strip to convert the raw signal from the diagnostic teststrip into a meaningful concentration value for an analyte of interest.The machine-readable marking that is encoded on a particular test stripis selected at the time of printing and may vary from the base code of aparticular test strip lot based on strip geometry or chemistryparameters that are measured for each sub-lot grouping. A sub-lot may beany subset of the entire amount of test strips from the lot, from anarbitrary percentage down to a single test strip.

In some embodiments, the present disclosure is directed to a diagnostictest strip or sensor. Encoded on the test strip is a machine-readablemarking which contains information that allows a meter designed to workwith the test strip to convert the raw signal from the diagnostic teststrip into a meaningful concentration value for an analyte of interest.Also encoded is a second machine-readable marking that instructs themeter to offset the base code by a particular amount based on the ciphercontained in the second machine-readable marking. The secondmachine-readable marking that is encoded on a particular test strip isselected based on strip geometry or chemistry parameters that aremeasured for each sub-lot grouping. A sub-lot may be any subset of theentire amount of test strips from the lot, from an arbitrary percentagedown to a single test strip.

In some embodiments, the present disclosure provides for a method ofmaking a diagnostic test strip, said method comprising: marking amachine-readable pattern onto the test strip which contains informationthat allows a meter designed to work with the test strip to convert theraw signal from the diagnostic test strip into a meaningfulconcentration value for an analyte of interest. The pattern printedbeing chosen at the time of printing and possibly varying from the basecode of the particular test strip lot being produced based on stripgeometry or chemistry parameters that are measured for each sub-lotgrouping.

In some embodiments, the present disclosure provides for method ofmaking a diagnostic test strip, said method comprising: marking amachine-readable pattern onto the test strip which contains informationthat allows a meter designed to work with the test strip to convert theraw signal from the diagnostic test strip into a meaningfulconcentration value for an analyte of interest. Additionally marking asecond machine-readable pattern onto the test strip which instructs themeter to offset the base code of the first pattern by a certain amount,where the second pattern is chosen based on strip geometry or chemistryparameters that are measured for each sub-lot grouping.

All patents, patent applications, and published references cited hereinare hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety. It will beappreciated that several of the above-disclosed and other features andfunctions, or alternatives thereof, may be desirably combined into manyother different systems or application. Various alternatives,modifications, variations, or improvements therein may be subsequentlymade by those skilled in the art.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of making a diagnostic test strip, themethod comprising: determining a base code for a lot of test strips, thebase code comprising information that allows a meter designed to workwith the lot of test strips to convert raw signal data from the teststrips to a concentration value for an analyte of interest; inspectingone or more test strips in a sub-lot of test strips from the lot of teststrips to determine variations in one or more parameters, the one ormore parameters comprising one or more strip geometry parameters, one ormore chemistry parameters, or both the one or more strip geometryparameters and the one or more chemistry parameters; modifying the basecode based on the variations in the one or more parameters; and markinga modified code onto the one or more test strips in the sub-lot of teststrips, wherein the modified code modifies information encoded by thebase code based on a difference in an average value for the plurality ofdiagnostic test strips of one or more strip geometry parameters, one ormore chemistry parameters, or both the one or more strip geometryparameters and the one or more chemistry parameters for the lot of teststrips and a corresponding value for the one or more test strips in thesub-lot of test strips.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the base codeis determined by testing a representative number of test strips bydestructive means.
 3. The method of claim 2, wherein the one or moreparameters are inspected by non-destructive means.
 4. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the sub-lot comprises a single test strip.
 5. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the sub-lot comprises multiple test strips.6. The method of claim 4, wherein the modified code refers to a lookuptable of the meter such that the concentration value of the analyte ofinterest can be modified based on the modified code.
 7. A test stripcomprising a machine readable code obtained by a method comprising:determining a base code for a lot of test strips, the base codecomprising information that allows a meter designed to work with the lotof test strips to convert raw signal data from the test strips to aconcentration value for an analyte of interest; inspecting one or moretest strips in a sub-lot of test strips from the lot of test strips bynon-destructive means to determine variations in one or more parameters,the one or more parameters comprising one or more strip geometryparameters, one or more chemistry parameters, or both the one or morestrip geometry parameters and the one or more chemistry parameters;obtaining a machine readable code by modifying the base code based onthe variations in the one or more parameters, wherein the modified codemodifies information encoded by the base code based on a difference inan average value for the plurality of diagnostic test strips of one ormore strip geometry parameters, one or more chemistry parameters, orboth the one or more strip geometry parameters and the one or morechemistry parameters for the lot of test strips and a correspondingvalue for the one or more test strips in the sub-lot of test strips. 8.The test strip of claim 7, wherein the base code is determined bytesting a representative number of test strips by destructive means. 9.The test strip of claim 8, wherein the one or more parameters areinspected by non-destructive means.
 10. The test strip of claim 8,wherein the sub-lot comprises a single test strip.
 11. The test strip ofclaim 8, wherein the sub-lot comprises any subset of the lot of teststrips.
 12. The test strip of claim 8 further comprising marking thesub-lot of the lot of test strips with the modified base code.
 13. Thetest strip of claim 8, wherein the modified code refers to a lookuptable of the meter such that the concentration value of the analyte ofinterest can be modified based on the modified code.